pathfinders to venus

Following directly on from the events of Pathfinders to Mars, the opening of S.O.S. from Venus finds our plucky band of space explorers heading back home to Earth. Somewhat awkwardly, the chisel-jawed Conway Henderson (Gerald Flood) decides to radio Earth with a rundown of the rocket’s personnel.

This, of course, is done purely for the benefit of new viewers who may not have caught the previous serial. So in the same spirit, I can reveal that apart from Conway Henderson, also on-board are Professor Mary Meadows (Pamela Barney), youngsters Geoff Wedgewood (Stuart Guidotti) and Margaret Henderson (Hester Cameron) and the loose cannon that is Harcourt Brown (George Coulouris). Oh, and Hamlet the guinea pig of course.

But when they receive a distress call from an American, Captain Wilson (Graydon Gould), trapped in an orbit around Venus, they elect to change course and help him. Brown is delighted – his quest for exploration knows no bounds and within seconds he’s chomping at the bit to step foot on Venus. Conway tells him that they’re only going to orbit the planet, so any jaunts to the surface are strictly out of bounds. Hmm, we’ve been here before so the astute viewer won’t be surprised to learn that Brown will shortly get his way (otherwise, with eight episodes to fill, the story wouldn’t have been terribly interesting).

Although the serial would quickly abandon its loose grip on scientific realism, in this episode Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice were at least still paying lip service to established scientific principles, such as degaussing.

The modelwork remains as endearingly low rent as before as do the limited special effects. Given that this was made in 1961, that’s hardly surprising, although simple camera tricks (simulating weightlessness in space – crawling on the underside of the rocket – by simply turning the picture frame upside down) are still effective.

As has happened before, the opening episode is pretty much a bottle episode – set aboard the rocket. This means that it’s something of a slow intro – although Conway’s space-walk is good fun. A pity that the very dramatic stock music during this scene is rather miscued (it starts, then it stops for a few seconds, then it starts again) but such technical issues were common during this era of television.

Things seem to be going smoothly. Conway and the others have nearly reached Wilson, whilst a Russian rescue rocket is also heading towards them. But you can always guarantee that Brown will complicate matters and when he spots something through the viewfinder (“it’s a town! A town on Venus!”) he sets to work in order to convince the others that they should land.

The way he does so takes a little swallowing. Since Wilson’s messages have been recorded, by chopping out a small section of the tape Brown can create the impression that Wilson is on the surface and asking for help. That Brown is able to correctly estimate precisely how much tape he needs to remove without playing it first is a highly impressive skill …..

Convinced that Wilson is trapped on the surface of Venus, Conway and the others set out to rescue him. But before they can do this they have to work out a way to negotiate the poison cloud that surrounds the planet.

After a few minutes chat, they seem confident so once again the dramatic stock music is cued as the sweet little model rocket slowly begins its descent. You have to respect the abilities of the regulars (attempting to sell the illusion of danger with such limited resources is no easy task).

But although it’s easy to be critical of the effects, some are very effective. The shots of the American rocket orbiting Venus are nicely done. The rocket isn’t particularly detailed, but the fact it’s so small means that it contrasts well with the vast planet. And our first sight of the planet’s surface – the camera tracks down to reveal the rocket nestling amongst surprising lush vegetation – is a decent model sequence.

Brown is convinced that Venus has a breathable atmosphere and – against the advice of the others – he emerges from the rocket without his space helmet. And wouldn’t you know it, he’s correct. This is probably the moment where it’s pointless to worry about scientific accuracy and simply go with the flow. One obvious plus point about this is that it means our heroes don’t have to spend the entire serial wandering about with space helmets on (which I’m sure was Hulke and Paice’s reasoning).

Since this was 1961 you shouldn’t be surprised that the boys (Conway, Geoff and Brown) immediately go out to explore whilst the girls (Mary and Margaret) stay behind in the rocket. But it isn’t long before the ever-squeaky Margaret gets her chance to take a look outside (albeit with Geoff as a chaperone).

Conway finds the place “menacing” although at present there’s no sign of life. On the other hand, Brown is delighted – telling Margaret and Geoff that due to Venus’ slower orbit he could expect to live for another six hundred years here. I’m going to have to think about that one ….

Poor Wilson. Considering that the others had come to rescue him, now that they’re jaunting around on the surface he’s rather stuck. So he too decides to make planetfall. Geoff, manning the radio, can’t convince Conway that the blip he’s monitoring is a rocket (which is reasonable, since they all assume Wilson has already touched down). The scene of Wilson’s rocket crash-landing is interesting. Let’s assume that the planet’s surface is very springy (that would explain why his rocket seems to bounce up and down).

What should you never do on a strange new planet? Split up and explore. So whilst Conway, Mary and Brown have stuck together (with Geoff and Margaret safely in the ship) what do the youngsters decide to do? Yep, head off under their own steam for a spot of exploration. Oh dear.

Towards the end of the episode we get to see a bit more of Venus’ lush vegetation (which seems to include large mushroom plants). We also have our first sign of life – a snake – as Geoff and Margaret close in on Wilson’s crashed rocket. But Wilson’s nowhere to be found and Geoff makes a disturbing discovery. “This damage couldn’t have been done by a crash-landing. The rocket’s been ransacked by some creature!”

Stuart Guidotti’s performance, like Hester Cameron’s, is sometimes pitched at a level of extreme hysteria – as it is here. Possibly they were both told to go for it (as in Doctor Who, end of episode acting was a specialised skill) and it’s fair to say that neither of them are holding back as this episode concludes.

As also often happened with Doctor Who, the end of episode cliffhangers were re-recorded the next week. This is very evident here, since both Stewart Guidotti and Hester Cameron are much more restrained at the start of this episode than they were at the end of the previous one.

Geoff and Margaret, locked inside Wilson’s rocket for safety, are pondering exactly what powerful creature could have caused such damage. Geoff has plenty of ideas. “For all we know it might have been a reptile, or a bird with a huge beak. Or an insect with some kind of nippers like a crab”. Given the series’ budget, I’ve a feeling it’ll be somewhat less impressive than these wild imaginings ….

It’s plain that they’re not alone though. For a while, the camera has sometimes shot from behind flapping branches, giving the impression that someone or something is observing them. As with the previous serials, this one is also in no hurry to show its hand (understandable, with eight episodes to fill).

So The Living Planet concerns itself with the continuing hunt for Wilson whilst Brown burns with a desire to explore what he believes to be a Venusian city. The parallels between this story and The Daleks seem pretty obvious, was this a coincidence or did Terry Nation tune in back in 1961? One difference is that Brown just decides to wander off by himself to explore the alleged city (unlike the Doctor, who had to trick the others into accompanying him).

Another Doctor Who connection is the distinctive piece of stock music which appears some ten minutes about ten minutes in, which also cropped up during the Hartnell era, The Space Museum to be precise.

Brown meets up with Wilson and the pair head off for the city together. For those keeping a watch on the Conway/Mary relationship, there’s another kiss here – albeit it’s just a smacker on the top of her head.

Graydon Gould, as Wilson, starts to emerge as a more defined character in this episode, helped by the fact he finally has someone to talk to. Gould might not have been an American, but he was the next best thing (Canadian) so at least he sounds pretty authentic. Brown and Wilson don’t exactly see eye to eye – Brown believes that the only aggressors in the solar system are to be found on Earth and despairs that the Americans rocket was kept a secret (presumably because it contained military secrets).

You probably won’t be shocked to learn that Conway and Geoff venture out to find Wilson and Brown whilst Mary and Margaret remain behind in the safety of the rocket. Although maybe it’s not that safe since something breaks into the rocket and begins to menace the girls.

And then Conway disappears which is the cue for Geoff to start over-emoting again. We must be close to the end of the episode ….

By this point the narrative has split four ways. Geoff is alone in the jungle, Mary and Margaret are trapped in the rocket (whilst something large and unfriendly appears to be attempting to force its way in), Conway has disappeared whilst Brown and Wilson are making their way to what Brown believes is a Venusian city.

Mary eventually twigs the way that Brown deceived them – chopping a few words out of Wilson’s tape recording – whilst the tension of Geoff, Mary and Margaret’s predicament quickly dissipates. Geoff returns to the rocket and the mysterious creature disappears.

The logical Professor Mary Meadows believes that the creature only appears when they’re alone, so Geoff decides they should rope themselves together and that’ll deal with it. Eh? I’m not entirely convinced about this statement.

Brown and Wilson continue their slow trek to the city. They find a cave which displays evidence that the Venusians have discovered fire (and presumably are flesh eaters). This doesn’t chime with Brown’s assertion that the Venusians are harmless and friendly, but he’s not downhearted and quickly bounces back. At this point poor George Coulouris suffers a line fumble worthy of William Hartnell. “Three thousand miles, err three thousand, three hundred years ago …”

The point about fire is an interesting one – in the previous scene Mary was confident that they could use it as a weapon, since she thought it was unlikely the Venusians would have discovered it. Although as no-one ever mention fire again it turns out to be a totally redundant plot-point.

A few clips of stock footage are used throughout the serial. This episode is slightly more low-rent though – as we hear the sound effect of thunder followed by a picture of lightening. It’s only on the screen for a second so they just about get away with it.

Gerald Flood’s had an easy episode so far. We don’t see him until we’re about half way through when Conway promptly wakes up, calls for Geoff and the others – who just happen to be close by – and they’re all happily reunited.

Brown and Wilson debate the ethics of technology. Brown despairs about the way that scientific progress has ravaged the Earth and fears that the same thing will happen one day to Venus. Wilson makes the logical point that without science they’d never have reached here in the first place. Then Wilson reaches for a cigarette. It’s somewhat jarring to see an astronaut having a quick puff (unless they were special space cigarettes) but then it was the early 1960’s.

The most entertaining part of the episode is poor Hamlet’s plight. Trapped inside a flesh eating plant, it looks like curtains for the space-faring guinea pig. Margaret doesn’t take this trauma at all well – she’s frantic with worry as Conway manfully attempts to rescue Hamlet from within the flappy plant. Don’t worry, Hamlet fans, he eventually escapes unharmed.

The last few seconds give us our first sighting of a Venusian. He’s lurking in the shadows somewhat, but think cave-man and you’ll be on the right track.

The lights are even lower at the start of this episode then they were at the end of the previous one, so the Venusian cave-man is much less distinct than he was before. This low-lighting seems to have foxed the vision mixer – at one point Margaret screams that he’s “breaking though” as the camera cuts to what appears to be an empty frame.

As the Venusian (Bob Bryan) ambles out of the cave, we get a closer look at him. I think it’s fair to say that he’s possibly not going to be a terribly interesting conversationalist.

The Venus People gives us a break from watching everybody traipsing through the forest as instead they spend their time traipsing through caves instead. As ever, things aren’t straightforward – Margaret gets separated from the others but (as luck would have it) she runs into Brown and Wilson.

Brown has to do a little bit of quick talking since he’d convinced Wilson that everyone else on the rocket was dead. He does admit that he lied, but Wilson doesn’t seem too bothered about being deceived. During these scenes you have to admire Hester Cameron. Margaret has been forced to carry Hamlet for some time, which must have been a little irritating.

Brown finds a narrow ledge which he believes leads to the city. He’s happy to risk his life crossing it, but Margaret and Wilson are less keen. But when they hear the wails of the Venusians, she has no choice but to follow. There’s a bit of a technical blip here – we see Brown cross over, but then George Coulouris walks through the back of the frame, presumably making his way to the next set.

Wilson meets up with Conway and the others and they too attempt to cross. The dramatic stock music goes up a few notches as Brown is trapped by a large rock. A Venusian child (Brigid Skemp) appears to offer Margaret a way out ….

In yet another remarkable coincidence, Margaret and the Venusian child locate Conway and the others. That just leaves Brown to free from his polystyrene rock and then everyone will be back together.

Brown is remarkably noble (“save yourselves” he tells the others). But they’re not prepared to leave him to the mercy of the approaching lava and after considerable effort (I wonder if they taught this type of acting – pretending that lightweight objects were very heavy – at RADA?) they manage to free him.

They’re all delighted to finally have emerged from the caves into the open air. And I have to confess, so am I. The city they can see in the distance is impressive. Brown calls it “the creation of an advanced people with a sense of beauty of form”. But how does that connect with the mute primitives they’ve already tangled with?

Eventually Conway decides that they’ll all take a look at the city. But Brown can’t wait for Conway, so he sets off alone. Hasn’t he learnt by now that bad things happen when they split up? Tsk, he’ll never learn. As Brown makes his way towards the city, we’re privy to his internal thoughts as he ponders the best way to make contact, which is a nice little touch.

For those keeping track of the Conway/Mary kisswatch, this episode he’s heading closer to her lips (via a peck on the cheek). But maybe his close attention was something of a plot point, since he notices a mark on her face. Made by an insect possibly?

This episode (and the final one – Planet on Fire) were directed by Reginald Collin (the other six were directed by Guy Verney). This was Collin’s first directing credit, although he’d later be more prolific as a producer (notably on Callan).

All of Brown’s hopes are dashed after he learns that the city isn’t a city after all – instead it’s a massive tomb where the Venusians bury their dead. It’s a pity that after all this effort the city turns out to be nothing more than a Maguffin. Oh well.

But his disappointment quickly moves into the background as Mary begins to falter – the insect bite is clearly more serious than it first appeared and the others need to come up with an antidote quickly.

This T/R isn’t in a great shape – very notable tramlines throughout – but given that a good deal of this era of television doesn’t exist at all there’s no point in grumbling.

With Mary still weak, they have to improvise a stretcher to carry her (which they knock up very quickly and impressively, it has to be said). Venus is a planet full of surprises – this week’s cliffhanger finds them menaced by flying dinosaurs!

The episode title – The Valley of Monsters – would no doubt have raised the audience’s expectations, so possibly that was why our first sight of the monsters – stock footage of animated flying reptiles – provided the previous episode with its cliffhanger. At least that way most people would know what they were going to get here.

This instalment was especially fascinating since it was used for an academic study into children’s viewing habits and opinions. To this end, eight deliberate production mistakes (in addition to any inadvertent ones) were introduced into the episode. Several groups of children were then shown the episode, with their interest levels and comments closely monitored.

It was discovered that young children were just as demanding and critical as any other viewing group. As producer Sydney Newman later noted. “The most important thing we learnt is that if anyone thinks a young audience can be fooled or won sloppily or ‘on the cheap’ he is sadly mistaken”. No doubt these lessons would have been taken on board when Newman moved to the BBC and initiated the creation of Doctor Who.

I have to confess that none of the production mistakes were particularly apparent. Maybe I was just unobservant or possibly too wrapped up in the story?

Our heroes manage to escape the dangerous stock footage flying reptiles and they then proceed to make their way through the forest on the long trek back to the rocket. The forest clearing, where they pitch up for a rest, is pretty bare but a later sandstorm is effectively done.

There’s more animated stock footage (a Tyrannosaurus Rex battles a Stegosaurus as our heroes look on in awed wonder). The models are a little small and grubby, but the dramatic music – and acting – sells the illusion resonably effectively.

Latest Kisswatch update – Conway and Mary enjoy a passionate kiss on the lips. Hurrah! Marriage doesn’t seem to be on his mind though, unless he’s being very subtle. But he does ask if they can work together when they return to Earth, so maybe this is the first step in his plan to woo her.

We return to Buchan Island for the first time since the opening episode. The Russian rescue rocket has nearly reached Venus, but with no evidence that Conway and the others are still alive, it’s likely to just turn around and go home.

Malcolm Hulke tended to pepper his Doctor Who scripts with political, moral or environmental messages. Pathfinders never really went down these routes but this episode – for example, Wilson sees a chance to make a great deal of money by plundering Venus of its plentiful diamond supply – does supply us with a vague message.

It does mean that Wilson, up until now a level-headed chap, suddenly turns into an avaricious monster. This moment quickly passes, but the discovery of uranium is another flashpoint. Wilson paints a vision of Venus as a colonised world, its natural reasources mined for the benefit of Earth (America), a prospect which disgusts Brown. Wilson tells Brown that “you can’t stop progress”.

It’s interesting thar Brown’s desire not to see Venus strip-mined isolates him from the others. But when the way back to the rocket is blocked by raging forest fires, he gleefully tells them that nobody will ever leave the planet. Instead, they’ll become the first of the new Venusians ….